Killer Whales

There are Resident Orcas which are the most commonly seen in the Pacific East. They travel in strong, cohesive family pods and eat mainly fish but on occasion squid. They are creatures of habit and visit the same locations continuously.

Here three of the world's great oceans - the Atlantic, Southern and Pacific - all clash head on, squabbling for supremacy. One of Shackleton's companions, a young Irishman named Felix Rooney, described it as "so rough, the ship would roll the milk out of your tea."

The state of orcas in captivity is a very contentious debate. Anti-captivity proponents argue fiercely that these animals are not meant for an artificial life, and that keeping them captive brings no benefit outweighing the unethical treatment they receive.

In a precedent-setting case, PETA US, three marine-mammal experts and two former orca trainers are suing SeaWorld on behalf of five orcas who were taken from their home by force, locked up, put to work and never allowed to leave. The case intends to prove that these orcas are being held as slaves in violation of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution. The suit is one of the most groundbreaking legal cases ever to reach the courts - the first ever to assert that a constitutional right should extend to nonhuman animals.